[[quoteright:223:[[VideoGame/DragonQuest http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/my_mimic.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:223:[[Film/AustinPowers GET IN MAH BELLY!]]]]

->''"Computer roleplaying games often have mimics... which are always disguised as chests. Chest chest chest. It makes you wish that digital orcs would stick their electrum pieces in a foot locker or some variety of credenza, just to break the ennui of another piratey-looking wooden chest suddenly sprouting limbs and beating you to within an inch of your save file. It would be refreshing like the breezes of summer to be able to say 'Hey! I just had my clavicle shattered by an aluminum tool shed!'"''-->-- '''Creator/LoreSjoberg''', ''The Book of Ratings'', [[http://badgods.com/view/dndmonsters2 D&D Monsters, Part 2]]

And now, there are monsters that disguise themselves as ''[[EverythingTryingToKillYou loot]]''!?

A Chest Monster is an enemy or hazard that has disguised itself to look like something positive: as an ally, a SavePoint, or -- in the archetypical example -- a treasure chest. They are frequently called "mimics" for this reason, and are generally stronger (sometimes ''much'' stronger) in battle than the surrounding {{Mooks}} in the area. Sometimes they are ordinary chests with [[SealedEvilInACan a monster locked inside]]. It may or may not be possible to escape from a Chest Monster once it's been disturbed -- you either defeat it, or die trying.

Obviously, Chest Monsters aren't threatening at all if you can avoid triggering them in the first place, but in games that encourage you to [[KleptomaniacHero always open every last treasure chest in sight]], this is easier said than done. It may or may not be possible to identify a Chest Monster without opening it up and springing the trap -- sometimes there may be a [[GlamourFailure minor flaw or difference]] that allows you to tell them apart from the genuine article; sometimes you can use an item or ability to analyze it and tell if it's real. Other times the placement is a clue -- if a power-up is right there in plain sight with no [[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity guards or obstacles protecting it]], it might be a trap. [[ParanoiaFuel Or not.]] If all else fails and there are no clues, you'll just [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption have to find out the hard way]] and hope it doesn't bite back.

It makes you wonder; where did these things come from? Did [[AWizardDidIt a wizard]] make them, or have people in the world of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' been putting chests in dungeons so long mimics have had time to evolve to fill this niche?

Sometimes you ''will'' get something of value if you beat the Chest Monster. See also InexplicableTreasureChests, InnSecurity, and AlluringAnglerfish.

Compare PoisonMushroom, which is a harmful ''item'' disguised as a beneficial one, and WallMaster, which is an enemy that hides in and/or disguises itself as the scenery (though this trope applies if the monsters have to be dug out of the walls first). May overlap with TreacherousCheckpoint if the monster disguises itself as a CheckPoint or SavePoint. The inverse is a FakeTrap, where something in the game is made to look dangerous or threatening, but is actually harmless.

Not to be confused with ChestBurster. Unrelated to a certain metaphor from [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince the 6th Harry Potter novel]]. Has nothing to do with breast size.----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]* An episode of ''Anime/RuneSoldierLouie'' has a short fight scene with the party attacked by a door mimic, as well as a traditional treasure chest mimic.* ''Manga/OnePiece'':** The series has this during and episode in the Thriller Bark arc where Nami opens a chest and a surprise zombie pops out.** Luffy and Nami encounter a little man who, twenty years before, had fallen into a treasure chest and couldn't get out. He tries to invoke this trope to scare people away from his island.* In ''Anime/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsters'', Joey opens a treasure chest in search of valuables, but it contains a Yamatano Dragon Scroll that captures him.[[/folder]]

[[folder: CardGames]]* The ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' card game has a reference to this in the form of Dark Mimic [=LV1=] and Dark Mimic [=LV3=], who both look like chests and give the player an extra draw when activated.** They even act as a traditional Chest Monster in Yu-Gi-Oh World Championship Tournament 2008. In the Pyramid in the World of Sunlight, there is occasionally a treasure chest. it will give you GP, a card... or a challenge by Dark Mimic Lv1.** Other cards also allude to this, such as Yaranzo (classic demon in a treasure box) and Stuffed Animal (demon teddy bear), as well as the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Man-Eating Treasure Chest]].** Hungry Burger fits this trope as well.[[/folder]]

[[folder: ComicBooks]]* In ComicBook/GoldDigger, a flashback strip to one of Gina and Britanny's early adventures has them encounter one of these that's actually guarding a treasure (inside itself). Upon finding out after taunting them that they're actually not ''interested'' in stealing said treasure because they're {{adventurer archaeologist}}s and not thieves, the disappointed monster instead challenges them to a contest: they can keep anything they can snatch before it can bring its toothy lid down to bite, fair and square. Of course, Britanny Diggers ''is'' a were-cheetah with {{super speed}}...[[/folder]]

[[folder: {{Literature}}]]* The ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books have this with ''The Monster Book of Monsters'', a Care of Magical Creatures textbook that is actually a furry, sharp-toothed monster itself, and will try to bite the reader if s/he doesn't open it the right way.* While not an enemy of the protagonist, the Luggage from the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels is still a ravenous Chest Monster. But it does its master's laundry. It is, however, quite harmful to ''everyone else.'' It can also be distinguished from, say, the sort of luggage to steal underwear from, by the feet underneath. And the fact that it will, without eyes, ''look'' at you in a ''very'' unfriendly manner.* In Dougal Dixon's ''After Man'', the oakleaf toad is this trope for smaller invertebrate-eating animals. Camouflaged by the leaf-like appearance of its body, it lures in prey such as shrews or small birds with its tongue, which resembles an earthworm.* ''Literaute/VillainsByNecessity'': Called an "Aydaptor", one nearly devours Arcie. Later it's domesticated with a spell into a pet by the adventuring party following them, to its horror.[[/folder]]

[[folder: LiveActionTV]]* Parodied with the paedophile disguised as a school in ''Series/BrassEye''.* In ''Franchise/TheFutureIsWild'', the Spitfire Beetle is this to a Spitfire Bird. The bird normally goes to a certain flower to stock up on chemicals for its SuperSpit. Four Spitfire Beetles work together to form a fake flower, attracting the bird, which they all jump on and take down. [[/folder]]

[[folder: TabletopGames]]* The great-granddaddy of this trope is the mimic, a blobby monster in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' that could imitate any stone or wood item; the artwork in the first edition ''Monster Manual'' depicted one in the shape of a chest, setting the mold to be followed in its videogame descendants. Incidentally, it's capable of making anything it touches stick to it as if glued and thereby making sure whoever touches it first is out of the fight. The second edition compounded the problem by adding a variant that can grow to the size of a building, inflicting a TotalPartyKill on any group unfortunate enough to enter the "dungeon." (It's common DM practice to have that type pose as a [[MemeticMutation gazebo]].)** There's also the "bag of devouring", a fake BagOfHolding that's actually the mouth of an extradimensional predator, which may or may not be asleep.** The 3rd edition ''Epic Level Handbook'' has the living vault which, in addition to containing valuables, is a powerful creature.** Not truly a member of this trope, but it is implied that Nimicri, a GeniusLoci found in the ''{{Planescape}}'' campaign that is found in the Chamada layer of Gehenna, might actually be related to mimics, possibly one with divine blood.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: VideoGames]]* ''VideoGame/The7thSaga'' has Tricks. They're some of the hardest enemies in the game when you fight them, [[DemonicSpiders and that's saying something]]. They {{randomly drop|s}} a variety of gemstones, and with some SaveScumming, the player can acquire a hoard of emeralds and sapphires.* ? blocks in ''VideoGame/AlexKidd in Miracle World'' will sometimes summon the GrimReaper, who is an InvincibleMinorMinion and hard to evade if not scrolled offscreen.* ''[[VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery ADOM]]'' has traditional mimics. They don't look like chests because you don't generally find stuff in chests, just lying around; so they look like stuff lying around, ie. items on the floor. There are a few ways to recognise one. They used to appear on the map even if you hadn't explored that area again to find them, unlike real items, but that was fixed. They also appear as a random type of item symbol in a random colour, so they often seem quite colourful -- most armour and weapons is light grey for metallic, though special attributes on items have made the variety of real items more colourful as well. Finally, even when they don't appear on the map where you can't see them, they appear seemingly out of nowhere when in an area you've already explored; that's not impossible for an item, something could have dropped it there while you were away, but it is unlikely. The best place for them to hide is among the wide variety of stuff in a shop. Then, there are mimic lairs, that look like a shop without a shopkeeper. Every object in such shop is a mimic.* ''VideoGame/{{Athena}}'' has annoying and hard-to-kill flying heads hidden in certain blocks.* In ''VideoGame/TheAwakenedFateUltimatum'', after the first few dungeons, any treasure chest in the game has the potential to be one of these and they get progressively more powerful. By the end of the game, you'll probably end up having fought quite a lot of them. Especially if you're going for the Trophy for gathering all items, as certain items can only be found in chests, while others have a much better potential to be in chests than dropped by enemies or lying on the ground.* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' has a single mimic in the entire series. It showed up in the sequel with confusing attacks. The ExpansionPack ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIIThroneOfBhaal'' added the nastier Killer Mimics in the BonusDungeon.* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'':** The first game has literal Chest Monsters in [[PalmtreePanic Treasure Trove Cove]].** ''Banjo-Tooie'' has fake Jinjos called Minjos that start appearing when you reach Witchyworld. They look exactly like the Jinjos, but they will try to attack you if you get near. To add to the confusion, they are often hidden in out-of-the-way places like the regular Jinjos. The way to tell them apart is A) you can shoot eggs such as freezing them, and if they do budge or get frozen, they're bullshit and are trying to lure you in (the eggs will pass through real Jinjos), B) Minjos will respawn in areas and can change color when you exit and reenter the room; the locations of the various Jinjo colors is randomized at the start of the game, but they won't change colors once you see them, C) Minjos will NEVER be in Jinjo spots that require a puzzle solved to obtain [[note]] You may find a Minjo in a hidden room in one of the corners or in the middle, but not in specific Jinjo spots such as behind a hot waterfall in a small cubby that requires a specific set of steps to reach (one example is in Grunty Industries; there's a Jinjo spot high in the tower that requires the climbing shoes and is behind a timed door; Jinjos in spots like that WILL be real)[[/note]], and D) Once you pick up all of a Jinjo's color, the Minjos will still use that color. There's one Minjo in the last area, which doesn't have any Jinjos, by the way (this Minjo is guarding a switch that needs to be triggered to get to the third and final Klungo fight and the "Tower of Tragedy" quiz), and there's also one in a spaceship that will fly away and can no longer be accessed. ** ''Tooie'' also has the boss Mingy Jongo, the robotic [[BossSubtitles "Crafty Shaman Impersonator"]] who appears in one of the two skulls of the friendly shaman Mumbo Jumbo in the last major world (one of them's red, the other is blue, and their locations are randomized each game; both must be visited if one wants to obtain all the Jiggys since Mingy is a boss that has one of the world's Jiggys). Distinct from the original because he drops the genuine article's HulkSpeak. Must be seen to believed. The way you can tell the difference between the two is that [[spoiler: A) Mingy's hut has a Jinjo in it, while Mumbo's has a Minjo (itself a decoy trap enemy), B) There is a fire going in Mumbo's, C) The words "Mumbo's Skull" will appear on the screen when you enter Mumbo's Skull; no wording will appear on screen in Mingy's hut, D) When you go upstairs, if you see Honeycomb Health powerups on the windowsills in the hut, it's indicating that the room is a battlefield, and, most importantly, E) When you entered Mumbo's hut in the first game, he was always asleep. Mingy has retained this trait, but ''Mumbo hasn't.''(Mumbo IS asleep when you first see him in Mayahem Temple, but should otherwise be awake).]]* The old Namco game ''VideoGame/{{Baraduke}}'' had the blue "Octy" monsters release a treasure capsule which would randomly contain nothing, a gem for score, a friendly alien for the bonus games, a weapon upgrade and an angry Pacmanesque purple monster. Alas, it was require to ''touch'' the capsules to open them, always prompting you to run away after doing so!* ''VideoGame/BeyondOasis'' features these. They're fortunately easy to detect due to them loudly snapping their mouths all the time.* In ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', entering a shop may instead trigger a battle with [[BanditMook Greed]] (who usually lies motionless as the shopkeep), one of the mini-bosses themed around the SevenDeadlySins.* All the ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' games feature mimics as enemies. They damage you when you try and open them and start hopping after you. [[DemonicSpiders They're rather hard to kill when they first appear]], but you can blow their cover by attacking or using a See-All-Nut (which makes them glow green).* In the ''VideoGame/{{Bonk}}'' series, some of the Florets contain "Venus Bonk Traps". You can tell a fake one from the real ones because they don't breathe.* Played literally in the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' DLC ''Dr. Ned's Zombie Island'' with the Loot Goon, a Tankenstein with a red gun chest on his back. Killing him let you loot the chest. In a more straight example, in ''The Secret Armory of General Knoxx'' several lootable things (weapons chests, dumpsters, etc) had midgets hidden away inside them. The sequel adds a more traditional and horrifying version in ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep''.* BoundByFlame features an enemy in the [[BubblegloopSwamp swamp]] called a Ripper. As one of the characters remarks, "[[VaginaDentata It looks like a...thing]]."* ''VideoGame/BrainLord'' features quite a few Chest Monsters, but they almost always hang out next to actual treasure chests and have a slightly different [[PaletteSwap palette]], so if the player is paying attention they should be able to pick them out fairly easily.* ''VideoGame/BraveHeroYuusha'' has the Boxed Horror of the Desert Tower, as a blue chest, and defeating it also has the chest contain an item.* The ''BreathOfFire'' series has a Chest Monster as a recurring enemy named "Mimic", which is a living, breathing {{mook}} chest. In a more straight example, ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireI'' and ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' have actual trap chests with a variety of effects (poison, damage or even reduce HP to 1) who are inflicted on whoever is at the head of the team.* Literal Chest Monsters in the Treasure Desert world of ''[[VideoGame/BubbleBobble Bubble Symphony]]''. [[http://www.vazcomics.org/mamend/png/bubl0131.png Which are also named Mimic.]]* Some "mystery" balls in ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}!'' will contain enemies or hazards instead of {{Power Up}}s.* ''[[WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost Casper]]: A Haunting 3D Challenge'' ** Some chests have Fatso hiding in them. You have to be ready to quickly get out of the way to avoid harm.** There are also fake vents Stinky hides in, waiting to give you a [[CallingYourAttacks "Smell-o-gram!"]] These vents disappear along with him.** In the basement, Stretch's arm will reach out as you go past certain places. Usually where there's an item to pick up. He's the hardest one to avoid, as well as the scariest, given the atmosphere.* In ''Call of Duty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'', hijacked Care Packages are rigged to explode when the next player tries to open it. ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Black Ops]]'' players can also do this with the Hacker/Engineer perk.* The 2D ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}s'' have a variety of such monsters, often called mimics.** ''Vampire Killer'' had trap candles that released slimes when whipped.** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' had a fake SavePoint. In one room is a real save point (which, in this game, are coffins) and, just across the hall, is another room that looks like a different-colored save point, but will in fact trigger a battle with a succubus.** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'' featured trick candles that would fall out after being whipped. Unusual that they didn't attack you, had [[MetalSlime tons of HP]], and an alarmingly LOW [[RandomDrops drop rate]] for some of the best cards in the game, and they ''[[GuideDangIt only appear in Boss rooms of Bosses you've beaten three bosses ago]]''.** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' featured bags of money that would damage you if you touched them, revealing a laughing skull.** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' featured a typical Chest Monster, along with normal chests full of coins early on.** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'' was somewhat odd in having chest mimics... but no chests.** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'' has fake chests that are even worse due to the abundance of chests in the game compared to other games. It's also difficult (if not impossible) to distinguish them by looks from actual wooden chests until one tries to open them. They become hilarious when you play Albus Mode. In that mode, all treasure chests are removed except for two kinds: fancy chests, which hold life, magic and heart increasers... and Mimics, now the only wooden chests in the game. It's pretty easy to avoid them in this mode, needless to say.** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDespair'' features wooden chest mimics that slide across the floor quickly and usually can't be killed with just one attack.* ''VideoGame/CaveStory'':** The game does it with a killer door in the first dungeon. Not fun to be killed by, but tons of more fun to see your friends not notice its [[RedEyesTakeWarning evil red eyes]] and try to walk through it.** ''Cave Story'' also has unused data for a literal Chest Monster, as well as animate versions of jars and Save Points.* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' and ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' have ''fake save point'' monsters.** As for ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', at least one other save point triggers a battle because the monsters nearby ''hear the "ding".''** ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' also has the Boxer Boys in Viper Manor. They impersonate treasure chests, and at the beginning of battle, give the player the option of attacking the Big Boxer or the Li'l Boxer. Depending on which you choose, they will either give you treasure or attack you.* Some of the secret bunkers in the NES port of ''VideoGame/{{Commando}}'' contain {{death trap}}s such as [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes snake pits]] or {{gas chamber}}s.* The final dungeon of ''VideoGame/{{Contact}}'' contains Chest Monsters that sprout limbs, pull out a sword from inside of them, and then proceed to inflict beatings.* One of the most frustrating enemies in the PC game ''[[VideoGame/{{Dgeneration}} D/Generation]]'' is the C/Generation, a shape-shifting monster that likes to disguise itself as everyday objects like chairs, power-ups, and the people that you're supposed to be rescuing. They're also immune to your primary weapon.* Both ''VideoGame/DarkCloud'' and ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'' had Mimics, who would suddenly sprout arms, legs and a tongue when you tried to open them. There's also King Mimics, which are bigger and stronger.* The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' trilogy, as you would expect, has Mimics hiding throughout the world. If you try to open a Mimic, it'll pull you inside its mouth and chew on you, most likely killing you in the process. An awakened Mimic is a powerful but slow enemy, and looks like the [[TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]] with a chest on his head. There are a few ways to tell them apart: Mimics don't [[http://darksouls.wdfiles.com/local--files/enemies/mimic-fake-chest-large.jpg quite get the look right]], they occasionally have to open slightly to take a breath, and if they take damage in any way, they'll abandon the disguise and attack. This can be dangerous though: in later games, attacking a chest can destroy whatever's inside. Hitting the chest with a Lloyd's Talisman/Undead Hunter Cham will also put a Mimic to sleep, allowing you to reach in and take its treasure without it noticing. * The Franchise/DeadSpace games feature breakable loot containers which, on very rare occasions, contain several swarmers. This example is far less effective than most on this page, especially since the containers are opened via ''stomping''.* The game ''VideoGame/DeepDown'' will have one called [[http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/19690/article/new-deep-down-screenshots-depict-the-jackie-a-treasure-chest-mimic/ The Jackie.]]* ''VideoGame/DelveDeeper'' has Lumber Mimics, which disguise themselves as treasure chests and then attack when your dwarfs try to pick them up. They [[GlassCannon have relatively low HP, but high attack power]].* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' and ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' had destructible barrels with a high chance of containing an enemy skeleton instead of loot. ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' carries on the tradition, as well as having skeletons hide under lootable floor tiles and who knows what else.* ''[[http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=12014 Nuts 2]]'', a ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' level, features a group of apparent megaspheres (200% armor/health refills) which turn out to actually be monsters with a machine-gun attack. (And standing nearby are [[InvertedTrope apparent dangerous monsters which turn out to be simple cardboard cutouts.]])* In ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'', numbered lockers typically contain goodies. However, woe is you if you open locker [[NumberOfTheBeast #666]].* The ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' games have enemies that hide in barrels. The most common type just knocks you around, but the ones that hide in TNT barrels are fatal. It goes further in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest''; yellow ones steal bananas from you with each bump, while the black ones with a JollyRoger on them will rob you of extra lives.* In ''VideoGame/DragonSlayer'', treasure chests would sometimes contain {{Shinigami}} that followed you around and prevented spellcasting.* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has a couple of these in the ruined temple during the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest. Glass phylacteries may also count, if the player has never encountered one before.* The ''Videogame/DragonQuest'' series:** It started the idea of always being a chest[[note]]Notably, there's usually at least two variants, the Cannibox and the Mimic. To the bane of games, they both have astoundingly high damage, very high critical hit rates, and the Mimic can cast Beat/Whack and Defeat/Thwack, which can instantly kill one or all of your party members, respectively; the Cannibox is the ImageSource for this page[[/note]].** [[VideoGame/DragonQuestVII VII]] mixed things up a bit with monsters disguised as pots, books, and ''wine bottles''. The only destroyable objects missing a monster were barrels.** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' has a Chest Monster ''boss''.** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesRocketSlime'' has a cute variant of the standard Chest Monster.* ''DragonsDogma'' features the Maneater, a very powerful snake-like creature that emerges from certain chests. It can swallow characters whole and cast instant-death magic. Thankfully, they randomly appear, but only in certain chests, so a savvy player can be prepared or simply avoid them once she knows where they lurk.* ''VideoGame/DreamOfMirrorOnline'' had Toxic Trunks in the Inn Basement; although it was [[PaperThinDisguise pretty clear that they were not treasure chests and actually were alive]] (they even wandered around their spawn area), they could be nasty to those not prepared or high-leveled enough to fight them; as the name suggests, they could poison you and even lower your defence. Couple that with their tendency to gang up on you, and it's enough to make any low-level player run for their lives.* Early in ''VideoGame/{{Dubloon}}'', you get to a room where to get the key, you have to open 5 treasure chests in correct order. Opening in wrong order results in a battle with a skeleton. Also, [[spoiler:the final boss]] is a ''literal'' Chest Monster.* ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' and ''Duke Nukem II'' had chests that, while not technically monsters, had bombs inside that exploded after the chest was shot. In ''Duke Nukem II'', these could be distinguished from chests containing health items by walking: if you passed in front of the chest, it contained health; if you passed behind it, it was a bomb. Careful level design made this nearly impossible to notice until it was revealed in the hints file for the registered version.* ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' features a variation: the trashcans throughout the game can be broken and they will provide you with power-ups. But later in the game, some of the trashcans contain hidden monsters, and there's no way of telling which ones do and which ones don't until you smash them open...* ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper 2'' has a trap called the jack-in-the-box. Disguised as a magical item, your imps will try to take it to your dungeon, when it explodes.* ''[[DungeonSiege Dungeon Siege 2]]'' had Mimics that were ''nightmarish''. They were uncommon but unbelievably dangerous. Luckily they also dropped a bunch of good loot when defeated.* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' has a number of AnimateInanimateObject enemies, most of which appear in a certain department store, which have the Overworld-Sprite of a present box despite looking nothing like one in battle. These include the Scalding Coffee Cup, which tends to drop a cup of coffee when defeated. Items can also be found inside garbage cans, but those can also turn out be enemies that pursue and attack you.* The poison clams in ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin''. They look like healing clams but have a nasty surprise when activated-it's like being hit by the other enemies.* ''VideoGame/EnterTheGungeon'': The aptly named Mimic is a Chest Monster that can be randomly encountered throughout the came, though finding one is rare. It replaces ordinary chests, and looks exactly like them, save for the occasional movements and lack of a keyhole. When interacted with or shot at, they reveal themselves to be mimics, and proceed to attack the player. Mimics are notoriously hard to kill - their high HP coupled with erratic movement patterns and high rates of fire make them difficult targets. If the player moves into a room outside of the one which the mimic was found in, it will pursue them.* The ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' series had items that could be picked up marked by a glimmering point of light. During the first three games, they turn out to be very helpful in finding useful items that would otherwise be hidden in the dark environment. And then in the fourth game for the Wii, Tecmo pulls one of these where a ghostly hand would grab the character's wrist and require the player to shake the Wiimote to get loose.* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series. These are sometimes called "enemy ambush" or "monster in a box", and most of them do give you items upon their defeat, often very valuable ones [[SchmuckBait or Potions]].** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' is the first game in the series to introduce these. One memorable Chest Monster encounter pits you against {{Palette Swap}}s of a DemonicSpider species of enemy...that proceed to cast Cure on ''your'' party.** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has the box with the three Mad Ogres in it or the four [[StandardStatusEffects Malboros]]. IV also has the Door monster, which only appears in one dungeon, but it's a DemonicSpider, which deals massive damage and transforms into a Manticore upon defeat[[note]]Unless you figure out the trick to them: The Trap Door has two actions, a targeting action, in which it reveals the party member it's going to use its attack on, and an instant kill spell. The instant kill spell can be bounced back with Reflect, and thanks to the targeting action, you know exactly which party member to cast it on. They become incredibly easy when you figure this out, as they have no immunity to their own spell[[/note]].** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' had a monster guarding the SavePoint in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, right before the final boss.** The most infamous Chest Monster has to be Shinryu, a BonusBoss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''. Its tougher version in the GBA remake also hides in one.** While ''VI'' generally has its monsters hiding in boxes (even when its monsters are much too large to reasonably fit), one optional miniboss triggered by a chest is identified as an "angler welk," a gigantic snail-like creature [[AlluringAnglerfish with a chest attached to it like the glowing portion of an angler fish]].** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has a few, but in several locations.*** The first is in the GI Cave's first area. There are four caves with rocks in them. The cave that is the second closest to the right of the room (with dialogue of "An odd-shaped rock") opens the way to the next room. Break any of the others and GI Specters descend on you.*** An infamous example is in the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. There's a safe in one of the second floor rooms that requires a timed combination pattern to open (the clues to the numbers and their order are in various rooms in the house; one of them is written in invisible ink as a fourth option on the note that alerts you to the safe). When you attempt to open the safe, Cloud says, "[[ThisIsGonnaSuck I have a bad feeling]] [[{{Foreshadowing}} about this]]" (just to clue you in to save and heal outside town before doing anything stupid) and if you persist, you then have 30 seconds to get the [[FourIsDeath four-number]] combination right (you'll fail if you accidentally scroll past a correct number). Opening the safe unleashes the Lost Number boss on AVALANCHE (and this is one of the contenders for ThatOneBoss), but if you survive, you win Red XIII's Ultimate Limit Break from the boss (it likely is too early to teach him since he needs to know all his other Limit Breaks), the Odin Materia that falls out of the safe when it opens, and a key to a side room in the basement prior to Sephiroth, where one of the "secret" characters, Vincent, is hiding.*** Toward the end of the Ancient Temple, you can alter a giant clock hand to go to two of twelve doors. Doors #1 & 3 lead to actual Chest Monster encounters if you open them (a Jemnezmy and a pair of toxic frogs for Door #1, and two 8 Eye enemies with strong absorption spells for Door #3; both can be taken out with Bio). If, while on the clock, you get hit by the second hand, you fall into a room with Cloud's Nail Bat weapon and where two Ancient Dragons sandwich you; after killing them, the door out of here takes you a ways back in the Temple; it's possible to fight the dragons repeatedly.** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has chests that sometimes are Mimics (WhiteGloves monsters) in disguise. They even get a surprise attack on the person that tried to open the chest. Afterwards, they act like a normal enemy and drop loot, which is usually more valuable than the potion or antidote commonly found in those chests (the more valuable chests look different and are never Mimics). They aren't much of a threat either, as they don't have a lot of health and are vulnerable to magic.** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' has an NPC monster in Esthar. It looks like an injured soldier with a darker palette, but when you talk to it, it giggles madly and transforms into a giant flying demon.** Mimics also make an appearance in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' as 'monster-in-the-box' enemies (of course, this time the monster ''is'' the box).** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'':*** The [[BonusDungeon Omega Ruins]] occasionally pits you in RandomEncounters with Mimics hidden in treasure chests, which if stolen from will reveal one of their four possible forms. Oh, and this happens, ''you can't escape from battle'' until you defeat it. (They do drop a lot of Gil though. And you can [[CuttingTheKnot safely Mug them]]; if it's not a real treasure, it'll still die before becoming a Mimic).*** There are also loose treasure chests in several areas, four in each. To get the treasures they have, you must open them in the right order. Open the wrong chest and you get forced into a fight, and if you are able to prevail, all the other chests disappear.*** Earlier in the Al Bhed's Home base, you have the option of making any chest you open be a Chest Monster. When you check a chest in this building, you get four choices of what you want to see in the chest written in Al Bhed, and one of the choices is actually Al Bhed for "Fiend" (the monsters in this FF universe; if you picked up enough primers, which are saved to the game's hard drive rather than the file, the words will be translated so you can see what your choices are). If you decide you want "Fiend" in the chest, ye shall receive...** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', in any area where the treasure chests looked like round pots with four metal legs, some of them would of course turn out to be actual mimics. The game's monster lore provided a long, creative backstory regarding their creation. And then there are the "Crystalbugs", three monsters disguised as '''Save Points''', which were [[FeedItWithFire impervious to all elements]] and attacked using high-level spells, but fortunately left actual Save Points behind upon their defeat.** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' technically doesn't have Chest Monsters. But due to the board-game type mechanics, when you pick up an item or defeat an enemy, other items/enemies will often appear in the stage. So pretty much any time you see a chest, you can be sure opening it will cause an enemy to spawn behind you and attack. They don't even try to hide it in one of the final stages - [[SchmuckBait the path to the boss's square is clear and you can walk right up to it and end the stage instantly, or you can open the single treasure chest in the middle of the stage with no enemies around it...not until you open it anyway. When you do, ''four'' enemies appear, all very high level, and ambush you.]] There is no way a player can look at that stage and ''not'' know what's gonna happen if they go for the chest.** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has treasure chests and coffers that are normally opened with InterchangeableAntimatterKeys. Thieves have a special ability to open them without a key, but that creates a chance that the chest/coffer will turn out to be a mimic. There's also a boss battle where you're confronted with three chests. One is an actual chest while the other two are mimics. Choose the real chest and you get the loot without a fight. Try to open one of the mimics and you'll have to fight both of them (or give up on the treasure and beat feet).** Although there weren't any Chest Monsters in the original ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI Final Fantasy]]'', there are certain spots near some treasure chests that will [[PreexistingEncounters initiate enemy encounters the moment you step on them]]. While a bane the first time you encounter them, as they are pretty powerful the first time you go through a dungeon, because they are ''always'' encountered by stepping on those tiles, you can use them to level grind later.* ''Forever Kingdom'' has two different variants. One sort where a monster comes out of the chest and tries to attach itself to you, causing some sort of status ailment, and another where after opening, the chest will explode, which not only damages the player, but also causes him (or her) to drop all the money that they had been carrying.* In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals]]'', two of the treasure chests in a Gaiden chapter contain fire Mamkutes.* ''VideoGame/FlightRising'' has a yearly event featuring chest mimics that attack the player in the Coliseum. While they appear as regular mobs enemies in the Coliseum, upon defeat they will sometimes drop a regular chest which can be opened for a chance at rare items, including a mimic familiar of the player's own.* The Flying Giftbox monster from ''[[Website/GaiaOnline zOMG!]]'' looks identical to the Magical Giftboxes that have randomly rewarded Gaians with rare items for years. But get too close and they'll attempt to eat you. Flying Giftboxes can talk, and tend to travel in groups. The real threat comes from the Ring Box, which is the MetalSlime version of the Giftbox. It also looks identical to a Magical Giftbox, but travels alone and does not speak, making it easier to mistake for an actual giftbox if you aren't familiar with their weaker cousins. (Ironically, there actually are Chests, Baskets, and Boxes in the game, and they all are Animated as well, but the only hostile thing they do is refuse to open until all of other the Animated on the screen are dispatched. However, there are certain chests that have Animated pop out of them; you get the reward after they're defeated). With a later update to the game, in Deadman's Shadow there are Animated chests that can and will attack players.* ''VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}}'' has chests throughout the game that you open using keys you pick up along your way. Most of these chests contain food, money, or power-ups. But some of them have a ticking bomb inside them that cause damage to you if you are anywhere near it when it goes off. It also ruins any food or items that are in its range when it explodes, so if you set on off before you collect all the useful things around it you basically have two choices: Run around and collect the things and take the damage, or run away from the area and say goodbye to the items but take no damage. However, these chests are always in the same places, so if you have completed the level before and you remember which ones have bombs in them, you can avoid them or use them to your advantage to attack nearby monsters.* In ''Golden Axe Warrior'', the later labyrinths have a few treasure chest monsters that try to kill you, though they're not very subtle about it.* The ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' series had many of these, including living treasure chests, beartraps, and magicians who turned Arthur into a frog or other creatures.** ''VideoGame/MaximoGhostsToGlory'' has mimics which look like treasure chests with giant teeth and wizards hiding in chests which will turn you into an old man or baby if they hit you with their spells.* In ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', the Mimics actually drop some good items, so it is worth it to in engage them even if you are aware they are traps.** When first encountered, their huge well of HP is rather annoying, as it takes forever to kill them. this tends to balance out later in the game, when you can kill them rather quickly and easily.* ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' had its own variation, a ''single'' first-aid station out of dozens throughout the game will explode if one tries to use it. It is conspicuous because it's sparking, but the temptation to heal up (or top off) after an intense battle just previously oft proves too great.* In the second ''VideoGame/HarryPotter'' video game, the occasional chest will turn out to contain Peeves the Poltergeist instead of useful items. This will not happen until the Skurge Challenge, though, where you're being tested on a spell that can be used to scare him off, so it could be considered part of the training. There's also a gnome in a chest in the Forbidden Forest level.* ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'':** Among the things that kill you in this game, one is a ''fake Windows error message'' that makes fun of the fact IWBTG is a mess of barely functioning code that crashes if anyone so much as looks at it funny.** There a killer SavePoint right before the final boss. It would turn into a regular save point upon being killed. It still appears in Impossible mode, which is supposed to have no save points; here the save monster disappears after being killed, but there's a 1 frame delay in which it's a normal save point that can actually be used.* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' has Mimicuties, Underworld mooks disguised as treasure chests that sprout ([[ShesGotLegs surprisingly shapely]]) legs and start [[KickChick kicking the mess outta you]] when you try to open them. They hit incredibly hard, move very quickly, and take more hits to defeat than nearly any other enemy in the game, making them [[DemonicSpiders extremely troublesome to deal with]]. Mimicuties make a return in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for Nintendo 3DS''' Smash Run mode, fulfilling much the same role as they did in Uprising.* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfDragons'' has teethed monstrous chests posing as normal ones, awaiting to jump at you when in close proximity. Fortunately, they aren't really hard to deal with.* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' features this in the very last dungeon: You have to run from chest to chest to move on, because invisible walls are blocking every other path. Of course, every player has the great urge to open these chests, so a quarter of them are actually filled with TheHeartless. To make matters worse this is the only part of the game where you CAN'T run from random encounters! On the other hand, each of these encounters does give you a good item when you beat it.** Early in this game, you come across the [[Disney/AliceInWonderland Mad Hatter's Tea Garden]] in Wonderland, and have a choice of which of the seven chairs you want to sit in to receive your unbirthday presents. Most of the chairs will summon tea utensils/boxes that will give you HP/MP balls and maybe a few items. Sitting in Alice's chair [[note]] the one indicated on the movie's [[Creator/WaltDisneyHomeVideo VHS]] releases before 1999, when that cover was replaced with a shot of Alice against a door/wall for a lame-duck WaltDisneyHomeVideo/WaltDisneyMasterpieceCollection tape (which became a WaltDisneyHomeVideo/WaltDisneyGoldClassicCollection tape the next year)[[/note]] or the middle chair on one side of the table will make a rather dark-looking unbirthday cake appear and explode, filling the garden with Heartless enemies and making the whole table disappear; you have to fight and destroy the enemies, then leave and come back to reset. Each chair can only be used once.** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'' had a better one- a treasure room called False Bounty. Three chests, but only one has treasure. Open either of the other two, you get a random fight.** In all three ''Kingdom Hearts'' games we have Barrel Spiders and Pot Spiders. Barrels and pots usually dispense health and magic orbs when hit, but come close to these guys and they'll sprout eyes and legs and start attacking you as well as ''blowing themselves up''.** And Jafar can conjure up a Barrel Centipede! What an asshole!** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' has 'Chest Spiders,' which are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' has the Cymbal Monkey and its stronger form, the Tricky Monkey, which hide in fake treasure chests where one would normally find items.*** The Ruler Of The Sky is an extremely decorative treasure chest and a sword when dormant. When active, the sword becomes part of its wings, and the chest becomes its mouth.** The Jestabocky dream eaters in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D'' disguise themselves as treasure chests at times, though they're distinguishable by their brighter colors. They also very unconvincingly disguise themselves as items mid-battle (Actual items don't move and bob up and down in the air).* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the browser-based MMO ''Videogame/KingdomOfLoathing'', where smashing a barrel in the Barrel Full of Barrels will sometimes result in a combat encounter with a mimic. The narrator even exclaims before the fight "You're confused -- you thought these things could only mimic chests!"** There's also a mimic you fight in the [[VideoGame/NetHack Dungeons of Doom]] who's disguised as "something that looks like a cloak" (for which you pay 5000 local currency units directly prior to engaging in combat); after combat, you use the dead mimic's body to get either a transformation wand or a set of potions and a ring.** The "bag of airline peanuts" actually contains live snakes.* In ''VideoGame/LaMulana'', the Twin Labyrinths has a fake Ankh Jewel that turns into a bunch of GoddamnedBats when approached. However, a similar bat explosion results when a necessary passage in the Temple of Moonlight is opened up.* One BonusDungeon in ''VideoGame/LastScenario'' is filled with killer ''save points.'' While they're fairly tough, there's also so many of them that it's almost always easy to pick them out after you fall for it the first time. The trick instead is to figure out how to get through the dungeon while fighting as few of them as possible, since they act as respawning roadblocks, and one part forces you to backtrack through a section of the dungeon while on a time limit.* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':** There are Armos statues throughout the series. Some attack, some don't.** Various games feature dungeon tiles that rise up and throw themselves at you to try to kill you.** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' occasionally has townspeople who turn into monsters after you talk to them. These are fairly easy to avoid, though- just... don't talk to the random townspeople. They very rarely have anything interesting to say anyway.** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' do this with skulls (the Dark World's equivalent of rocks) and dungeon tiles coming to life. It also places mines and enemies under some bushes.** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' features treasure chests that look normal but release Zols when opened. Thankfully, these are somewhat rare.** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'':*** In the Spirit Temple, you're conditioned for most of the dungeon to believe that "reflecting light onto sun switches = good". However, a handful of these switches release {{booby trap}}ped chests that freeze Link upon being opened and invisible [[DemonicSpiders Floor Masters]] or Wall Masters when tripped (the sun switches return for the Gerudo Training Grounds and one of the rooms in Ganon's Castle; the latter will summon Wall Masters if the wrong ones are activated; they also return for ''Majora's Mask's'' Stone Tower Temple). The Fire Temple includes a few ''door'' monsters that fall down on top of you when you try to open them (these doors, however, stick out a bit and should be obvious traps; they return for the room with the boss key in the Spirit Temple, which uses larger doors, which makes the door mimics stick out). Also appearing in several dungeons throughout the game are pots that, while not "fake" per se (they often contain the same minor items as normal pots), rise up off the ground and hurl themselves at you.*** The boss of the Water Temple, Morpha, looks like a swimming pool when you enter the room.*** The Poe sisters and Phantom Ganondorf who hide in paintings.*** The Iron Knuckles look like statues until you attack them (which you will have to; each one is a MiniBoss that needs to be destroyed to continue with the game when you see them).** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', sometimes small enemies burst out of jars.** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' there are giant worms which hid under floor tiles and jump up when you cross them. Luckily, they occasionally peek up to look around, and you can wait with the Gale Boomerang in tow.** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'', you can occasionally come across rupees just sitting out in the open. These are attached to an antenna on a Like Like (monsters that look like a giant blancmange with a maw on top) that would pop out of the ground and try to suck you in if you get close enough.** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' takes the familiar Like-Like enemy and makes it more frustrating by including ones that hide inside pots and burst out to attack you when you get too close. Pots containing them will occasionally shake, tipping you off to the [[MooksAteMyEquipment shield-eating menace]]'s presence, but chances are that you'll be either too busy or too eager to get whatever's inside the pot to notice. And then there's the one hidden inside an actual treasure chest. Fortunately, this only happens once.* Shooting certain walls in ''VideoGame/LegendaryWings'''s Lucky Stages generates enemies.* The ''Franchise/{{Lufia}}'' series has these, though in the first game Mimics were random-encounter {{Metal Slime}}s rather than fixed encounters.** In ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'', red and blue chests are both mimicked, to annoying effect in the [[BonusDungeon Ancient Cave]]. Both are distinguishable from the genuine article by their coloring being slightly off, but the blue mimics are much harder to pick out than the red ones, and if you get caught by one, unless you've really geared and leveled up well (read: went in with more than a few items from, well, blue chests and/or gotten really lucky), [[DemonicSpiders your ass is pretty much grass.]] They return in ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'', only this time they're ''visually identical'' to ordinary chests and release status-effect-inflicting gas when you try to open them (and they can't be damaged until you do so). There is a trick to them: [[spoiler:normal chests have a fixed grid alignment on the floor; if a chest is out of alignment with the floor tiles, it's a Mimic]]. Oh, and occasionally you'll come upon a trap room filled with chests (read: possible Mimics).** In addition to Mimics outside of the Ancient Cave, ''VideoGame/LufiaTheRuinsOfLore'' can have monsters come out of any container you search inside of the Ancient Cave, in lieu of normal encounters. This includes the possibility of finding a Mimic inside of a monster-filled container, [[MemeticMutation so you can fight a Chest Monster while fighting a Chest Monster]].** The Ancient Cave also includes shrines, which can give bonuses if the hero is the right class...or reveal themselves as thieves, stealing money from the player.* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'':** There are fake doors and ghosts attacking from various hiding places.** Jarvis, a ghost, is literally a jar monster. Approach the jar looking for treasure, cue mini-game and MiniBoss battle.** Two rooms have literal Chest Monsters, and they're the Hidden and Sealed rooms (a few of the chests in the first room have ice ghosts in them, and the chest in front of the mirror in the Sealed Room has a four-pack of ghosts in it; both must be opened and dealt with to clear the room)* ''VideoGame/{{Mabinogi}}'' has monsters called [[http://wiki.mabinogiworld.com/index.php?title=Mimic Mimics]], which look exactly like chests in the dungeon they appear in. Every room (or section of corridor) with more than one chest means that all but one is a mimic. And the [[MindControlDevice fomor scrolls]] they commonly drop are [[MoneySpider quite lucrative]]. Unlike most examples on this page, these mimics are ''fun'' to encounter!* ''VideoGame/MagicSwordHeroicFantasy'' has several trap chests scattered on the stages, which either explodes in a wave of fire pillars, releases a group of monsters or summons a shower of rocks upon you; all of which do considerable damage.* Played with by the "Trashure" enemy from ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]''. The enemy looks like a treasure chest on the overworld. However, the player is not fooled because 1. it has eyes and moves around 2. treasure in this game comes in blocks, not chests. It's a great enemy to fight as it opens up at low health and Bowser can use his vacuum to suck in a ''lot'' of money. However, it [[MetalSlime tends to run away often]].* ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'' has Chest Monsters in the Challenge mode, though their disguise is a bit illogical since the game has no ''real'' treasure chests. Like most things in the game, they were only added as a [[ReferenceOverdosed referential joke]].* The ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' series features Fake Item Boxes as a recurring item. They differ from regular item boxes only in that their signature "?" insignia is upside down. However, in the DS version, they also show up clearly different on the minimap, and after 64, are colored red.* Even ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' is not immune.** ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'' has literal Treasure Chest Monsters, in Pirate Man's level. There are also legitimate chests containing the [=CDs=] needed for OneHundredPercentCompletion.** ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'' has the Vitaful, which looks like one of those capsules you pick up to fully replenish your health, only purple in coloration. They also stop flashing before they reveal their true nature, which happens when you get too close.** A few {{One Up}}s in the later levels of ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' are actually Metools in disguise. To make matters worse, it appears among a real one-up and some other goodies in an [[AfterBossRecovery After Spike Gauntlet Recovery]] area. They're less likely to fool you when they appear in Endless Attack, since it's a mode where you only get 1 life.** ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'' had false treasure chests that would fire bombs at you when you opened them. Some even grew legs and started running! To add insult to injury one particular chest looked like it would be something you could money farm off of, it would stand up and generate a massive amount of refractor shards and dump them right in front of you...try to get them without the vacuum though and it would try to sucker shoot you with a single bomb!* In the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' games, there's a chance that a green mystery data will contain a virus inside of it instead of an item, though it'll simply be one you can find in the area normally. This can be circumvented by simply using the inexpensive Untrap item which lasts until you leave the net and will remove said viruses.* ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'':** ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' has Arachnus, an optional boss disguising itself as an item held by a Chozo statue. It can only be harmed by bombs and yields the Spring Ball after killing it.** In ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', several Chozo statues come to life and try to kill you after you take their power ups from them. It's not clear if this is a result of the Chozo's becoming more warlike as they were forced to fight the Space Pirates, or if it's a trap set up by the Space Pirates specifically to try to kill Samus.** In ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', an X parasite mimics one of the Chozo statues that traditionally power Samus up. Two more X mimic missile and energy tank {{Power Up}}s.** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' has a weird variation in that the Luminoth cultivated plant life as storage containers. The Ing on the other hand turned weaker members of the species into containers.** The Boost Ball power-up in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' leads you to a boss battle against the Defense Drone when you approach it. You do get it after the battle, though.* ''[=EarthBound=]'''s successor ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' has just one Chest Monster in the Thunder Tower, which is ''slightly'' stronger than the random encounters. ** A few boxes in a haunted castle don't contain enemies, but do contain ghosts that cause a specific status ailment.** Other boxes are even more pointless: some boxes set off fireworks, others cause little drum licks to play, and a few simply ''fart at you''. To this, the game only responds: "...Ah." Also, "Lucas opened the present. Incredibly enough, there was a hot spring in the box!" [[BiggerOnTheInside Considering the fact that you have to get in a hot spring to be healed by it]]...** Also, the [[NonStandardGameOver lethal-on-contact]] Ultimate Chimera.** Among the monsters there are also door mimics, slightly different from real doors.** There's also a [[LethalJokeCharacter Men's Room Sign]] enemy in the final dungeon, which imitates a...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin men's room sign]]. [[spoiler: Up until it pulls out [[OhCrap PK Starstorm]].]]** One random encounter in the sewers of New Pork City hides in a trash can.* The RPG Maker game ''{{VideoGame/Middens}}'' has a monster that disguises itself as the Love Bus. While it looks identical to the actual Bus, it's not in one of its usual stops. [[JumpScare It will show its true form and attack you if you try to enter.]]* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''** The popular Aether Mod introduces Mimics to the game, chests in boss dungeons - mixed with "normal", loot-filled chests - coming to life and attempting to bite the player when opening is attempted.** Silverfish start out as a special type of stone block that mines curiously fast if you don't have a pick, and if attacked will summon their brethren to come out of hiding automatically. Once they start spawning, the best strategy is to just get the hell out of Dodge and wait for them to go into the surrounding blocks, which when mined will start the whole thing over again, or another possible but more dangerous strategy is to carry a bucket of lava with you and dump it in front of the oncoming horde. With some updates, players have the ability to place these types of wall masters in creative mode wherever they please, which is most likely for people creating custom maps with traps. In survival mode, if you mine these special blocks with the silk touch ability in your pickaxe, you can harvest the booby trapped block and place them anywhere else as traps for your friends. The item is even called "Monster Egg" in the inventory.* Inverted in ''VideoGame/MysticArk''. The Mimics are quite friendly [[spoiler: Despite being locked up in the basement of Kidsdom Mansion, even one of them will heal you if you talk to it.]]* The Creator/{{Irem}} UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Mystic Riders'' has treasure chest monsters distinguished by their color as well as by occasionally getting up and walking around.* In ''VideoGame/{{Nethack}}'', mimics are most commonly found in shops, which makes a nasty trap for lower level characters. They rarely ever imitate the correct item type, making for a fun little minigame of "find the odd symbol out" with, say, an ! (potion) icon in a rare book shop full of + (spellbooks). Won't help in a general store, however. Unless they mimic, say, the stairs up or down. Or the ] symbol ([ is armor, but ] is unused).* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' had a funny one, either the second expansion pack (Hordes of the Underdark. It was necessary to kill the creature to complete the story, as you had to use the creature's severed arm to cross a number of obstacles.* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights: Hordes of the Underdark'' has an odd example. Instead of attacking you, it steals all your gear. You have to destroy it to get your stuff back, and it's immune to all your attacks. It's basically a harmless but annoying PuzzleBoss.* In the Xbox 360 game ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden II'', boxes are scattered all over the place, which usually give you some kind of health boost or extra essence. But every so often, it contains [[GoddamnedBats zombie fish]] which can seriously hurt you if you're not careful. This is actually carried over from the first game in the series, back on the Xbox.* The Mimics in ''VideoGame/{{Nox}}''.* Such creatures are briefly encountered in the GhostShip portion of ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}''. Fortunately, their coloration and [[ElementalPowers a certain wind power]] can give away their disguise.* The Hurt Plants of ''[[VideoGame/PaperMario64 Paper Mario]]'' look like Heart Plants. But while Heart Plants provide you with Heart Points, Hurt Plants initiate battles with you.* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' parodies this trope by including large black chests holding slumbering evil spirits. [[SealedEvilInACan Every time you open one the spirit inside places a curse on you,]] [[CursedWithAwesome but the effect invariably end up being a useful in-game ability.]]* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' had Chest Monsters only in the BonusDungeon, the Chrysler Building. They didn't appear in the boxes until around the 30th floor or so and once found, you couldn't escape. Unless your armor had super high defense, you may not survive the encounter.* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' featured the Dragon machine gun, which had a secondary mode that allowed you to turn it into a proximity mine. This was tons of fun in deathmatches. ("Hey, I think I'll stroll over here and grab this gun...What the...!?")* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'':** The game hides BonusBoss [[TheGrimReaper Reaper]] in random treasure chests while playing through a NewGamePlus. Thankfully, it's kind enough to give you an ambiguous warning when you try to open it. However, on rare occasions a Shadow will jump out of a treasure chest ''without'' warning and initiate a battle complete with an Enemy Advantage. [[NintendoHard Given the nature of the game]], this would likely result in a GameOver.** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Golden]]'' allows the Reaper to show up during a first playthrough. You still get a warning when you're about to open his chest, fortunately. And his arrival is announced with that ''lovely'' dragging chain. Be careful how many treasure chests you open, kids. (Not only does the Reaper arrive if you open too many on a single floor, but the odds of being jumped by a Shadow seems to go up as well.)** There's also the occasional chests that sap your HP or SP when opened, accompanied by a [[JumpScare very sudden]] red flash and "punch" sound effect. These chests are not present in ''[[UpdatedRerelease Golden]]'' for some reason.* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'' series:** ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarII'' has a dead-end room in the final dungeon where a single treasure chest blocks your path. After navigating a maze dungeon with powerful monsters, one would imagine this implies the part where you get the final ultimate item you can use to reach or defeat the final boss; however, it turns out to be one doozy of a Chest Monster... [[spoiler:The game series' recurring BigBad, as well as the second-to-last boss of the game - Dark Force.]]** In ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarI'', the treasure chests dropped after RandomEncounters were occasionally boobytrapped to explode or shoot an arrow when they were opened.* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''.** The field sprites used for item balls are identical to the {{mons}} Voltorb and Electrode. Said Pokémon have a nasty tendency to explode before you can KO them. This completely stopped making sense in Generation III. Prior to that, the sprite for item balls and the Voltorb/Electrode were just balls with red and white hemispheres. From Gen. III onwards, the sprite is very clearly a Poké Ball shape with a button in the center, which both Voltorb and Electrode lack.** On the route just east of Fallarbor Town in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald]]'', dimples in the layer of volcanic ash can mean one of two things; a hidden item, or a disguised {{Ninja}} Boy who will leap out, say something ridiculous, and proceed to poison all of your Pokémon with the inevitable Koffing.** Item Boxes in ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonXD'' are square in shape, so Genius Sonority knew they couldn't use the old Fake Item Ball trick from the games. They still included their own brand of ParanoiaFuel with ceiling-mounted Cipher Peons, which were placed in otherwise empty hallways and love to drop in your path when you desperately needed to get to the healing machine they were most likely guarding.** Foongus and Amoongus - mushroom mons with Poké Ball designs on their caps - are these in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', as Voltorb and Electrode aren't native to the region. The worst part, their Ability (Effect Spore, a carryover from Gen III) can give negative status effects to any enemy who hits them! Their 'Dex entry suggests they evolved their cap design in an attempt to fool their prey; [[ToServeMan this is less likely to fool the Pokémon than it is to fool the trainer.]] At least they're slow, unlike Voltorb and Electrode, so if you want you can run away. Furthermore, since only their caps are disguised, their trick only works in tall grass.** In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', the trickery continues, but now you can even come across Foongus looking like an item in a ''Hidden Grotto.'' This doesn't even make sense anymore, since in the Hidden Grotto, the ball is shown in full and not just the cap. On the plus side, the Foongus won't have Effect Spore, but its hidden ability, [[HealingFactor Regenerator]].** Sudowoodo from ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' pretends to be one of the trees that you're supposed to use Cut on. Instead, you have to water it because they're Rock-types. Used again in ''Emerald's'' Battle Frontier.** ''VideoGame/PokemonSuperMysteryDungeon'' has Dittos. In previous ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' games, they were simply disgused as other Pokémon, but in this game, they are disguised as items until you pick them up. They will then transform into the currently controlled Pokémon and confuse the rest of the party. Unsurprisingly, they are DemonicSpiders.* ''VideoGame/{{Ponpoko}}'' has "?" pots that release either bonus points or snakes.* In Level 12 of ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2'', there's a sword lying on the ground at one point, which you may think is a weapon upgrade, but when you approach it, it [[FlamingSword bursts into flames]] and attacks you. Run!* In ''VideoGame/PsychoFox'', eggs may contain enemies instead of useful items.* ''VideoGame/{{Quest 64}}'' and ''VideoGame/QuestBriansJourney'' have the traditional Mimic design, being a slug in a chest. It subverts it by making it a purely random encounter. There are no booby-trapped chests whatsoever in these two games.* ''[[VideoGame/RagnarokRoguelike Ragnarok]]'' (the roguelike version) features an interesting variant in the form of chameleons, which pretend to be other items until you try picking them up. Even telepaths cannot detect them, though you can sometimes deduce that an item isn't real if it has appeared since you last explored a level.* ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'' has a particularly FridgeLogic-worth example; there are [[GoddamnedBats goddamned mimics]] (of two varieties, even), but there are no treasure chests![[note]]outside of guild halls, but even those are 3D, not sprites like the monsters.[[/note]] Although unlike the usual stereotype, these mimics don't even try to pretend to be those non-existent chests and lie in ambush - to the contrary the bastards are ''blindingly fast'' and attack on sight. Many a SquishyWizard lies dead at their teeth...* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction'' has these.* ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' features the Tricky Treasure Chest, it actually doesn't attack you nor it's hidden since the game has a special type of level just for it, instead when it sees Rayman & company, knowing what they're going to do at it, [[RunorDie starts running away for its safety]], making some frantically funny levels.* Stage 5 of the PCEngine shoot 'em up ''Rayxanber III'' begins with a bunch of powerups flying towards the player. They turn into monsters when approached.* In the remake of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'', putting the red jewel instead of the yellow one in the tiger statue eye will cause snakes to drop from the ceiling.* Some boxes in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' contain snakes instead of items.* Some versions of {{VideoGame/Rogue}} had the Xeroc, a monster that would look like the money, rings, armor, etc that lie around the dungeon.* These things are ''horrible'' in ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy''; the first few you meet a liable to cause a TotalPartyKill. Not only are they about five times as strong as any random monster, but they surprise your party, leaving you unable to fight back for several seconds at the start of the fight! On the plus side, killing them ''always'' gives you a Hunter Coin. The lock on the box appears ''[[GlamourFailure a little different]]'' from a normal area chest and the box stops opening partway just before the fight.* Some {{Roguelike}} games take that to similar extremes, and feature monsters that look like empty space. One especially InterfaceScrew-y creature is found in ''Zangband'', making itself hard to identify, not only by being invisible, not only by looking like a floor tile even if you can see invisible monsters, but by having the name "It," so that all of its attacks will look exactly like those of a monster you can't see ("It touches you"). It's Monster Chatter has lines like "It summons Greater Undead!", screwing with the player even more.* One of the default enemies in ''VideoGame/RPGMaker XP'' is clearly meant to be used like this.* ''VideoGame/RuneFactoryFrontier'' has the Monster Box (and it's higher-level cousin, the Gobble Box), the classic example of a treasure chest with sharp, pointy teeth. They're rather easy to pick out (you'll notice the lack of a command before you get close enough to set it off), aren't a threat save for their high defense, and, like all other monsters other than bosses, can be tamed to follow you around town and the dungeons and spit out free jewels and metals every three days.** The Monster Box also appears in ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'', along with more higher-levelled versions.* ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier'' featured evil chests that spawned monsters. However, a lot of them dropped awesome prizes when defeated, so if you knew which were booby-trapped, you could grind and then go kick the chest's butt for loot.* Both ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' and ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' have trap chests that contain random encounters. There are also trap chests that damage and inflict status ailments on your party as well. Mute seems to be favored by Nocturne's damage chests.* In "VideoGame/ShovelKnight",:** You find a chest in the water level, but when you open it, the [[AlluringAnglerfish chest is a part of anglerfish-like creature]], with the chest instead of light, that turns out to be a miniboss.** Also, there is a character called Chester, who jumps out of chests, saying that he was first, and you have to buy the item instead of getting it free like in any other video game.* ''VideoGame/{{Silver}}'' has animated chests that spring arms and legs (and swords) when you try to open them and attack you.* ''Videogame/Skylanders'' Trap Team has a boss called Chomp Chest, who, as his name impiles, is a treasure chest with teeth. The game also seems to imply that treasure is essentially food for him.* An unusual case of of a monster disguised as a ''harmful'' item, the spike enemies in the Marble Garden Zone of ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' imitates the spikes you see in the level until you get near, after which they show themselves and start shooting. Interestingly, they're actually more ''useful'', as their apparent spikes actually work like a spring. There's also the boss of Flying Battery Zone Act 1, which looks like a normal animal capsule until you press the button on top of it, at which point it sprouts two spikeballs on chains and tries to kill you.** ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]'' features actual chests that can come alive and attack you. * ''VideoGame/ShiningTheHolyArk'' has a particularly nasty example in the form of a Chest Ghost that possessed Soul Steal, likely killing Basso (your party's tank) until you could resurrect him in a church. Not pleasant when you need his attacking prowess for the area's boss.* In ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', pots may sometimes contain snakes or spiders. [[InexplicableTreasureChests Treasure chests]] also may sometimes contain ''a bomb''. Very annoying if you're carrying a damsel.* In the ''VideoGame/StreetPassMiiPlaza'' game [=StreetPass=] Mansion/Monster Manor, features mimics as treasure chests, but they function as the same type of RandomEncounter as normal ghosts. Regular treasure chests are always opened normally without any risk of them being monsters.* Even though they are a GuideDangIt because nothing hints about them, certain butterflies in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' turn into 1UP mushrooms if you let them approach you and land on your head. Knowing this, you're tempted to do this on every single butterfly you come across. However, some of them are actually bombs that slowly chase you when revealed.* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'':** Pandorites[[note]]Apparantly named for Pandora's Box[[/note]] are so brutal they're practically minibosses. They have high attack, defense, magic attack, can sometimes heal or summon, and are immune to just about all spells, except for Mario's jump.** The [[TheMaze Forest Maze]] has mushrooms strewn about, some of which you can pick and keep as a curative item while others were Amanitas in disguise that spring to life and attack when you get close.** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' has Zombie Shrooms, which resemble normal restorative items, but come to life and attack the player after a brief delay.* In ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', the Mad Piano in BigBoosHaunt can give the unsuspecting player a heart attack, as it suddenly becomes '''extremely loud''' when it wakes up. And a Red Coin is right behind it! There's also certain butterflies that transform into 1-ups when touched, goading the player to do this for every butterfly they encounter. There's certain other butterflies that turn into black orbs instead and chase the player, exploding upon touch. * In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', the Hawkmouth[[note]]mask in ''VideoGame/DokiDokiPanic''[[/note]] gate in World 7-2 attacks you. Once you defeat it, it acts like a normal Hawkmouth gate that takes the player to the FinalBoss fight against Wart (this doesn't apply in ''Doki Doki Panic'', which used masks; this gate in that version is like all the others).* In certain levels of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' there are enemies called Pile Driver Micro-Goombas, which hide underneath and look like normal blocks until you get close, when they spring up and jump at you. In the NES version, you can tell these blocks from the normal ones because they don't "shine". In ''All-Stars'', however, they are only spotted by the shine going into the opposite direction of a normal block.* In the hotel level of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', you'll find a building-full of Boos when you are able to get in, and some coins. The coins that rotate slowly (in a manner so that the coin is facing Mario) are in fact Boos in disguise and will "poof" and attack when he draws near. In addition, during the Shadow Mario chase, the Boos will disguise themselves as Shadow Mario; these guys don't have his paintbrush, flash white a few times, and the Shadow Mario music will not play when getting near them unless Shadow Mario himself is nearby.* One of the things a creator can do in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'' is put an enemy in a ? block instead of an item, and said enemies can range from Koopas to Hammer Bros to Boo Carousels.* The ''Franchise/TalesSeries''. Justified somewhat by the fact that they give you All Divides, which are one of the games' most powerful items.** Fakes in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' get special mention. They take something like 10 times lessened damage from every attack you can make, including those with fixed damage like Distortion. They also start the battle Poisoned and lose a significant slice of their HP every few seconds. This makes every Fake battle more like a HoldTheLine fight. (Distortion actually is helpful against Fakes, for a different reason - it holds the Fake immobile for several seconds while still allowing it to take Poison damage.)** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' has a normal monster in the shape of a treasure chest* In ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', Mimics will show up in worlds once "hard mode" is unlocked. They're fairly tough, but drop loads of money and a rare item when defeated. Like the ''Torchlight'' example above, they are easy to spot; this time, it's because they often aren't aligned to the furniture grid like normal chests. Furthermore, they can spawn anywhere, often in places you've already searched and thus know don't have chests. They can also be told apart using a spelunker potion and/or hunter potion as treasure and ores are given a purple-ish glow while monsters are lit up with a green-ish glow. It's important to note that these can also be spawned by wiring up a chest statue to any kind of switch; those unfortunately don't drop any items or coins though. There are even rarer versions specific to certain biomes that are even tougher, but drop more valuable loot. There are even easier to spot, as they're twice the size of a normal chest and don't conform to any design. You can even create them yourself by creating a key out of souls and leaving it in an empty chest.* In the Notre Dame level of ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters2'', there are several enemy changelings chained to the wall, disguised as the maidens that you're supposed to rescue. They can be told apart from maidens by closely inspecting their faces, and by the fact that zombies attack maidens, but not changelings.* ''VideoGame/TitanSouls'' has the boss Avarice, a large mimic chest that shoots gold coins at the player.* ''VideoGame/ToejamAndEarl'' has mailboxes you can use to purchase gift items. It also has really fast, really tough "mailbox monsters" that disguise themselves as ordinary mailboxes. It's possible, but somewhat difficult, to distinguish between the two by close observation: the eyes of a disguised mailbox monster may appear briefly if you remain idle.* ''VideoGame/{{Torchlight}}'' has the archetypal Mimics, but when they die they tend to drop much better loot than the usual not-trying-to-kill-you treasure chest. They can easily be spotted thanks to the fact they appear in places chests normally don't, among other things. If in doubt, fling a ranged attack at it.* ''VideoGame/UltimaV'', although you can tell there's a Chest Monster around if the victory music doesn't play after defeating the monsters.** A few Ultimas had mimics, but the ''VideoGame/UltimaIX'' mimic actually had the body of a chest, on scaly ostrich legs. Tougher than most monsters in the same dungeons, but the rewards for beating them were usually better than what you could find in standard chests.** ''VideoGame/UltimaIII'' had killer floors in Exodus' castle, which looked exactly the same as the regular floor, and so couldn't be distinguished from the background either before or after they engaged you in combat. They fortunately weren't very strong, and could easily be defeated after you'd already killed one batch of them, by standing on the treasure chest the defeated floors left. All Ultima III combat when you're standing on a treasure chest, regardless of what's meant to be under the chest, has the standard "woodland" map. Against which things that look like castle floor are somewhat conspicuous. [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] had some fun with this, depicting Exodus' ''lawn'' as the most powerful force in the game.* ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' puts an interesting twist on the Mimic: In this game, it's actually a giant hermit crab-like creature that uses an actual chest as its shell.* ''VideoGame/VandalHearts'' has Chest Monsters as well, also called mimics. In the game, a tactical [=RPG=], chests are opened by striking them; naturally mimics are awakened in the same manner. They are indistinguishable from the normal chests until awakened. One BonusDungeon map takes this to the logical extreme, with a map filled with chests, only ''one'' of which is real.* ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'' has man-eating treasure chests in one of the BigBoosHaunt type levels, which act like the man-eating plants found earlier in the game. Strangely though, these treasure chests actually do contain the items needed in the level, and have to blasted open with a bomb to get the (real) treasure. ''VideoGame/WarioMasterOfDisguise'' also has Chest Monsters.* In addition to having mimics of varying strength scattered throughout, the ''Franchise/{{Wild ARMs}}'' games have a recurring Chest Monster ''superboss'' called the Black Box that you can only fight after opening every other chest in the game.** In ''VideoGame/WildARms3'' and ''VideoGame/WildArms4'', the mimics were indistinguishable from regular boxes and gave you some unexpected encounters. The payoff was decent enough to make it worthwhile.* ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' had a variation on this concept with some of the exit elevators. You may be given more than one door to choose, and if you pick the "wrong" one, then you find an elevator filled with guards, usually of the most difficult variety. Sometimes, the phony elevator may contain a secret wall that reveals rewards for your effort.** One level of ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' also has a false exit.* A feature of ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' games:** ''VideoGame/ChildrenOfMana'' has '''[[StuffBlowingUp exploding]]''' Chest Monsters.** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure'' has Mimic Boxes.** ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'' has the Polter Box, which looks like one of the game's treasure chests with spikes, eyes, and feet. They do live up to the treasure chest disguise, though, since they tend to drop rare and valuable crystals used for tempering your armor and weapons at the forge. It's also possible to get a Polter Box as a pet, and bringing him along guarantees a drop from any defeated regular opponent, thus increasing your chances of getting rare items from monsters.** ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' and ''VideoGame/SeikenDensetsu3'' can have the randomly dropped treasure chests from monsters turn out to be one of these. In both games, they have extremely high attack power compared to normal monsters, but are less dangerous in the former, due to only showing up later on, and can be disabled through use of the Analyzer spell (at which point the chests become regular treasures). In the third game, they can potentially appear at ''any'' point in the game, and have a stronger variant that starts showing up later.* ''VideoGame/WonderBoy'' and ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland'' featured a grim reaper or eggplant monster hidden in some of the eggs, which clung onto you and drained your vitality. At least it doesn't turn you into an eggplant like in ''Kid Icarus''. In ''Wonder boy'' the eggs containing this were spotted, while in ''Adventure Island'' there was no way of telling them of apart.* ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' has both fake flowers and fake {{One Up}}s.* In ''[=McDonald's=] Treasure Land Adventure'', in the [[GangplankGalleon Pirate Ship level]], treasure chest monsters are present alongside real treasure chests filled with gold.* ''Videogame/SunlessSea'': In the ''Zubmariner'' expansion, you can often find shipwrecks underwater, ones you can explore and loot. There are also Wreckships, which are pirate zubmarines purposefully made from old derelicts to resemble shipwrecks, and that will lie still at the bottom until someone comes to investigate, at which point they will float up and start shooting. They are a lot tougher than they seem, and they have ''strong'' guns on them, but they carry quite a bit of loot.* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}: Far Harbor'' has Anglers, who mimic Lure Weed plants when submerged.[[/folder]]

[[folder: WebComics]]* Like every other RPG trope, the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}!'' makes fun of this, this time by having the monster be ''bigger than the box it was hiding in''.* ''WebComic/RustyAndCo'' follows the adventures of a party of iconic D&D monsters, one of whom is a Mimic* They fight one in ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure''. The way it acts, the color of the speech bubbles and its general appearance suggests it's a minion of [[TricksterGod The Lady of Fate and Fortune]].* The Chest Worm in ''Webcomic/AwfulHospital''.[[/folder]]

[[folder: WesternAnimation]]* One appears in the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Dungeon", vomiting treasure when awakened.[[/folder]]

[[folder: RealLife]]* The old snake-in-the-can-of-nuts prank is a popular real life example.* The Alligator Snapping Turtle lies in wait wiggling its wormlike tongue until a fish comes along and thinks it's about to get lunch. Then it becomes lunch.* The golden lancehead, a pit viper unique to one island off the Brazilian coast, catches birds by lowering its tail beneath the branch it's coiled on and twitching the tip. Birds approach to investigate the "wriggling grub" and get snatched up by the snake.* The monkfish a species of flat angler fish that hides in the sea floor buried in the sand, it waves a lure to attract unsuspecting fish, and when it gets close enough it jumps out of the sand and gobbles it down.* The megamouth shark has an iridescent lining and array of photophores inside its mouth, which may resemble a swarm of bio-luminescent zooplankton, attracting plankton-eating krill straight into the shark's maw.* There is a type of starfish that stands up on the tip of its arms, forming a kind of tent. Small fish will then see it as a convenient hiding spot from predators, sitting right below the starfish's mouth. Also, wading birds of prey such as herons will extend their wings on sunny days, creating pools of shade where they stand in the shallows. Small fish gather to rest in the wings' shadows, or to look for insects that might have fallen from the "overhanging branches". * There's cases where an octopus is found inside a clam instead of, well, clam flesh. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv-xoiLnPjk Apparently it doesn't like being found out.]][[/folder]]